Weight loss support thread

[TIM4EUS]

I quit spiro a month ago and am dealing with gradual uncontrollable weight gain around my buttocks, thighs and belly. I feel like a fat gross slut

 

[Kormak]

Oh damn, a thread that I probably need. Okay so due to depression, stress eating, and getting bad habits from living in a communal home while dealing with severe, untreated social anxiety, I ballooned to 375 pounds. I had to share a kitchen with 21 other people and it stressed me out to the point where I avoided them and just ate pizza daily.

After two stints in the loony bin, I decided to pick get myself together, and walk daily to drop some pounds which I did. 40-ish plus-minus while fixing up my diet. It's been good so far but it's also been very rough. I'm very impatient so the times when I've plateaued, it has stressed me out and nearly wrecked my motivation or given me crying spells.

Right now, I'm stuck yet again and I've been stuck for around little more than a week. My body tends to fluctuate wildly depending on my menstrual cycle so I can gain 6 pounds in two days and be stuck with that for a week or two. Sometimes three months.

Around two weeks ago I joined a gym and in the beginning, things went well and I dropped some numbers on the scale although it was possibly just water weight, which I've gained all back.

I try to aim for around 1400-1500 hundred calories per day but I must be fucking up somewhere if this is happening.

I think my biggest issue is that I'm going in this alone without any support and me being my own worst critic, tend to go really hard on myself when things don't go well fast enough and it makes me easily upset and/or emotional.
Are you doing some sort of cardio or daily activity currently? Asking since you've mentioned that you've had problem with motivation while hitting platoes. It's rough but just get yourself a bunch of small goals(after all I went from 360lbs and not being able to walk 3 flights of stairs to running half marathons and some amateur events(mainly organized by some local teams and running shoe store) in 5 years, but what mattered is that it took a whole lot of time. There are no easy progress sadly.

1500 at above 300 pounds(as Barry mentioned) is way-way-way too low. It still might work for short-term progress but it's 100% not sustainable to maintain such deficits for prolonged periods of time(going to lead to harmonal issues down the road).
Tren Shapiro linked a decent TDEE calc above and you're cutting like 1000-1200 cal daily roughly I'd say, instead of sustainable 500-600, and that excluding excercising(you would need to check it yourself since it requires some other metrics to calc properly).
Flactuations can happen, but being stuck for weeks on same weight means you probably aren't tracking calories right or something(having same weight on SUCH huge deficit over weeks or months is simply not possible).
Also if you're weighting yourself daily - calculate weekly average, going to help with motivation a bit(did for me).

 

[Begemot]

Started intermittent fasting recently. Lets see how this goes.

What hours are you doing?

 

[omori]

What hours are you doing?

Eating windows is from 10am to 8pm.

 

[Begemot]

Eating windows is from 10am to 8pm.

Not bad, I've done 12 to 6 before but it;s a killer. The main thing is not eating after dinner and getting that break of time.

 

[omori]

Not bad, I've done 12 to 6 before but it;s a killer. The main thing is not eating after dinner and getting that break of time.

Im on day 4 and I’m already seeing some minor progress, completely killed the bloating I had.

 

[Sweetpeaa]

I started another weight-loss program January. Starting weight was 212 (holy shit). I don't know how much I weigh now as I was weighing myself daily and wasn't seeing changes so I decided to put the scale away because it was so frustrating I wanted to quit the entire thing.

I have gone down three sizes though and none of my bras fit me now so there are body changes occuring that are visible at this point in time. I didn't lose a pound the first month despite joining a gym and dieting so I am literally relived to see progress.

my energy is improving and I am getting over that sick feeling some of get from losing weight. I had the sick feeling literally until the start of April. I have no idea if it was hormonally related due to changes in weight but I felt so awful I felt like I was being hit by a truck every single day. This has been the most terrible part of the weight-loss journey definitely. But things are turning around.

my fitness stamina is improving so much I could walk up an entire flight of stairs in a building quickly the other day and wasn't exhausted after doing it.

 

[Local Fed]

I started another weight-loss program January. Starting weight was 212 (holy shit). I don't know how much I weigh now as I was weighing myself daily and wasn't seeing changes so I decided to put the scale away as it was so frustrating I wanted to quit the entire thing as it was feeling hopeless.

This is why so many people say not to weigh yourself every day. You were doing the weight loss equivalent of someone who checks their stock portfolio five times per day. Hitting the scale once per week at most unless you have some kind of very specific reason is a far better way to go about things.

The rest of your post (talking about improved energy, things fitting better, etc.) is far more helpful for you to focus on in regards to the day in and day out side of things.

 

[Stoicism Is For Losers]

I have a terrible tendency to overeat and I think it keeps my weight up, I can eat a giant meal and still get terrible cravings and open up a bag of chips and devour that too. What is the ideal portion size for a 6'4'' guy who mostly works at a computer and visiting the gym 3 times a week. What's the best way to deal with cravings?

 

[Local Fed]

I have a terrible tendency to overeat and I think it keeps my weight up, I can eat a giant meal and still get terrible cravings and open up a bag of chips and devour that too. What is the ideal portion size for a 6'4'' guy who mostly works at a computer and visiting the gym 3 times a week. What's the best way to deal with cravings?

Eat things that are actually satiating. Protip: chips aren't that and you're probably better off not even bringing them into the house to begin with if you have problems overeating. If you're wanting something similar then switch to popcorn, preferably lightly buttered or unbuttered. I'm not saying that chips have to become persona non grata or anything, but they probably should become a rarely seen acquaintance, not a friend that has his own recliner in your living room.

What does a "giant meal" usually mean for you? Are we talking something decent and balanced like a chicken breast, green beans and some fried mushrooms? Or are we talking white pasta with some spaghetti sauce and three slices of garlic bread?

Have things on hand like apples and cut them into slices first so that you can still have that hand to mouth action like you do when eating chips. Drink more water; this doesn't mean that you need to consume a swimming pool per day, but I'm willing to bet that you're drinking less of it than you should be while consuming too many liquid calories.

 

[Stoicism Is For Losers]

Eat things that are actually satiating. Protip: chips aren't that and you're probably better off not even bringing them into the house to begin with if you have problems overeating. If you're wanting something similar then switch to popcorn, preferably lightly buttered or unbuttered. I'm not saying that chips have to become persona non grata or anything, but they probably should become a rarely seen acquaintance, not a friend that has his own recliner in your living room.

What does a "giant meal" usually mean for you? Are we talking something decent and balanced like a chicken breast, green beans and some fried mushrooms? Or are we talking white pasta with some spaghetti sauce and three slices of garlic bread?

Have things on hand like apples and cut them into slices first so that you can still have that hand to mouth action like you do when eating chips. Drink more water; this doesn't mean that you need to consume a swimming pool per day, but I'm willing to bet that you're drinking less of it than you should be while consuming too many liquid calories.

Well "giant meal" is the kind of meal that has like the entire dinner plate completely covered in food and it feels heavy, typically I eat rice and meat, usually chicken for dinner, but rarely do I have veggies unless it's a curry or I make fried rice. I dont eat pasta too often. For lunch I tend to always eat some processed crap because I rarely have the mental energy in the middle of the work day to start cooking a meal.
I do have a bad habit of drinking soda, usually the "zero sugar" kind, but I know that's not ideal. I'd save money if I had water instead. But you're completely right about the apples, it would probably be better if I ate more fruit instead of processed things.

 

[Local Fed]

Well "giant meal" is the kind of meal that has like the entire dinner plate completely covered in food and it feels heavy, typically I eat rice and meat, usually chicken for dinner, but rarely do I have veggies unless it's a curry or I make fried rice.

Not to grill (pun not intended) you too hard on this, but you say chicken but don't specify the kind. Are we typically talking about my aforementioned example of breasts, or are you usually throwing some nuggies in the oven to bake? Furthermore, which veggies do you like (this is a rhetorical question, I don't actually care about specifics here)? Figure out what those are and have them on hand; I use green beans as an example because those are something that you can buy canned and in bulk and almost always have on hand.

Another idea, and bear in mind that I don't know your budget or its availability to you, but go buy yourself a few bags of frozen shrimp if you like it. Make some basic bitch stir frys where you combine it with some onion, bell pepper, etc. Enjoy cooking and experimenting. I know that sometimes cooking is the last thing that people want to do after a long day, but honestly stuff like stir frys are so easy.

I dont eat pasta too often. For lunch I tend to always eat some processed crap because I rarely have the mental energy in the middle of the work day to start cooking a meal.

Have you considered meal prepping? This doesn't mean that you have to have your food planned out for the next three months, but do you like things like egg salad or tuna salad? They're so easy that a anyone with half a brain can do it and if you just boil up like half a dozen eggs on a Saturday and make up the egg salad on a Sunday then you've got your lunch of three-fifths of the work week.

I do have a bad habit of drinking soda, usually the "zero sugar" kind, but I know that's not ideal. I'd save money if I had water instead. But you're completely right about the apples, it would probably be better if I ate more fruit instead of processed things.

Yeah, the zero sugar kind isn't great but it's better in some sense. Personally I think that drinking mostly plain, ice cold water is the way to go, but I get the need to spice things up with something sweet; I like those little bottles of the liquid concentrate that your can just squirt into your water bottle and shake up. Doing that once a day isn't awful in my opinion and they're pretty low calorie.

 

[Stoicism Is For Losers]

Not to grill (pun not intended) to hard on this, but you say chicken but don't specify the kind. Are we typically talking about my aforementioned example of breasts, or are you usually throwing some nuggies in the oven to bake? Furthermore, which veggies do you like (this is a rhetorical question, I don't actually care)? Figure out what those are and have them on hand; I use green beans as an example because those are something that you can buy canned and in bulk and almost always have on hand.

No I dont often buy nuggets, usually I just get breasts.

 

[AgendaPoster]

I have a terrible tendency to overeat and I think it keeps my weight up, I can eat a giant meal and still get terrible cravings and open up a bag of chips and devour that too. What is the ideal portion size for a 6'4'' guy who mostly works at a computer and visiting the gym 3 times a week. What's the best way to deal with cravings?

What do you do at the gym? If you want to lose weight, the fastest way is full body cardio workouts. If you lift a lot and your HR barely spikes in the 3-4th zones, your weight loss will be moderate, especially coupled with muscle gains.
As for overeating, there are two ways. Either you just increase the exercising until you're in deficit, or you start cutting back on the food. In time, stomach will adapt to give you that feeling of satiety with less, but it will take a while.
IMO working out more is the ideal solution, unless there are health issues which prohibit you to do it. It might seem hard at first, but I guarantee you that a few weeks of routine hour+ long runs, 4-6 times/week, slowly increasing, will eventually result in you feeling bad and guilty if you skip days. Additionally, dieting will make you lose weight, but intensive exercising has far more benefits than diet, like sleep quality increase, cardiovascular health+, becoming calm and level-headed, build up of muscle mass, loss of fat tissue, including visceral fat etc.

 

[Stoicism Is For Losers]

What do you do at the gym? If you want to lose weight, the fastest way is full body cardio workouts. If you lift a lot and your HR barely spikes in the 3-4th zones, your weight loss will be moderate, especially coupled with muscle gains.
As for overeating, there are two ways. Either you just increase the exercising until you're in deficit, or you start cutting back on the food. In time, stomach will adapt to give you that feeling of satiety with less, but it will take a while.
IMO working out more is the ideal solution, unless there are health issues which prohibit you to do it. It might seem hard at first, but I guarantee you that a few weeks of routine hour+ long runs, 4-6 times/week, slowly increasing, will eventually result in you feeling bad and guilty if you skip days. Additionally, dieting will make you lose weight, but intensive exercising has far more benefits than diet, like sleep quality increase, cardiovascular health+, becoming calm and level-headed, build up of muscle mass, loss of fat tissue, including visceral fat etc.

Oh I got a gym membership last week and I'm already been two times. Mainly focusing on cardio right now due to my poor endurance. I know growing muscle is not helpful for losing weight, but i guess i should have been more specific i dont need to become physically lighter I want to get rid of the fat on my abdomen, neck and face. If I get some muscle tone i dont care if I go up in weight.

 

[Local Fed]

I know growing muscle is not helpful for losing weight

It absolutely is helpful for losing weight (or rather, fat) though, it's just that it shouldn't be the only thing that one does if trying to lose fat.

 

[Captain Chromosome]

Two week accountability update, since the two week marker is where addictions really rear their ugly heads.
I caved and got a scale, only to find out I was severely overestimating how much weight I gained back. I'm still an obese cunt, but 243 is a hell of a lot better than 280 (my heaviest during the lockdown). Last time I tracked was 10/6 last year and I was 242, so I am now officially back on track.
Currently struggling with low energy and sour mood, not sure what's causing it since I'm keeping my vitamins topped off. Temptation is an insufferable prick.

Overall, sodium intake is a bit too high since my savings grace has been pickled eggs. Got some smoked ones and they are delicious, albeit more caloric than regular ones. Averaging between 1300 and 1670 calories a day. God bless roasted almonds.

If I can do it, you can too!

 

[Piss Clam]

I stopped eating for 18 days. I just didn't have any hunger for food. Lost like 23 pounds from 185 to like 160 something. I'm 6'1" and usually are around 185. So you want to lose weight, then stop eating faggots. The hunger pains go away in a few days.

Also, drink booze and get your cals from there

 

[Stoicism Is For Losers]

I stopped eating for 18 days. I just didn't have any hunger for food. Lost like 23 pounds from 185 to like 160 something. I'm 6'1" and usually are around 185. So you want to lose weight, then stop eating faggots. The hunger pains go away in a few days.

Also, drink booze and get your cals from there

Be careful so you dont suffer refeeding syndrome when you start eating again, it can be life threatening.

 

[Piss Clam]

Be careful so you dont suffer refeeding syndrome when you start eating again, it can be life threatening.

I know, we learned that in WWII with the concetration camps. Imagine being a soilder and having all that food, and want to feed the starving captives, but in doing so you kill them, because the metabolism cranks up and their bodies were just holding on. That's what kills them.